Wellness
Pros and cons of joint replacement surgery
Weighing some pros and cons of joint replacement surgery can help patients
make the most informed decisions possible.
s chief of thoracic surgery at
NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn
Methodist Hospital, Sebron
Harrison, MD, works with a multidisciplinary
team to identify and treat
lung cancer during its earliest stages.
Test your knowledge about this critical
condition.
Which of the following symptoms
are warning signs of lung
cancer?
a. Coughing up blood
b. Hoarseness
c. Chest pain
d. All of the above
Answer: d. Lung cancer typically
causes symptoms during later stages,
but individuals with early stages
of the disease may notice warning
signs. To screen for cancer at an
early stage, when treatment may lead
to better outcomes, talk with your
doctor about your risk factors and
screening options.
“Because lung cancer is so deadly,
patients should never wait for warning
signs. Instead, at-risk individuals
should be thinking about lung health
at every stage of the game,” Dr. Harrison
says. “Unfortunately, about 40
percent of patients are not diagnosed
until the cancer is already stage IV,
and at that late stage, fewer treatment
options will be effective.”
What is the leading cause of
lung cancer?
a. Asbestos exposure
b. Family history
c. Secondhand smoke
d. Smoking
COURIER L 74 IFE, MAY 17–23, 2019 M BR B G
Answer: d. According to the
American Lung Association, active
smoking causes nearly 90 percent of
lung cancers. But the likelihood of
the disease may also be increased by
factors like family history and exposure
to harmful chemicals in the air.
What is usually the first treatment
for early lung cancer?
a. Chemotherapy
b. Radiation
c. Surgery
d. All of the above
Answer: c. Surgical resection
is typically the first line of defense
against early lung cancer. Once the
disease has progressed, doctors may
recommend chemotherapy, radiation
and additional surgery.
Fact or fiction: If you have a
clear chest x-ray, you don’t need to
be concerned about lung cancer.
Answer: Fiction. Other tests may
be needed to identify lung cancer during
various stages of the disease.
“Multiple studies have shown
that a chest x-ray is not an appropriate
screening method,” Dr. Harrison
says. “A high-risk person should also
have a computed tomography scan of
the chest.”
True or false: If you’ve never
smoked, there’s no chance that
you will develop lung cancer.
Answer: False. NewYork-Presbyterian
Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
“Roughly 15 percent of all patients diagnosed
with lung cancer have never
smoked and have no other identifiable
risk factors,” Dr. Harrison says. “If
you experience symptoms, it is never
too early to see a doctor and discuss
risks and options for diagnosis.”
NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn
Methodist Hospital offers free lung
cancer screenings through the Fred L.
Mazzilli Lung Cancer Screening Program.
The Program is designed for
people between the ages of 55 and 74
who smoke or have smoked in the past
and have a history of 30 pack years.
This is equivalent to smoking one pack
daily for 30 years, two packs a day
for 15 years, three packs a day for ten
years, etc. These people are at the highest
risk for developing lung cancer. Call
718.780.LUNG to learn more about the
Program.
To people outside the medical
fi eld, joint replacement
surgery might
sound like a solution that’s
considered only after all other
options have been exhausted.
But joint replacement surgery
has become very common,
even though some studies
have suggested certain procedures
are being performed unnecessarily.
A 2014 study published
in the journal Arthritis and
Rheumatology found that onethird
of patients who undergo
knee replacement surgery
may not be appropriate candidates
for the procedure because
their symptoms are not
severe enough to merit aggressive
intervention like surgery.
The decision to undergo
surgery is always a patient’s
to make. Weighing some pros
and cons of joint replacement
surgery can help patients
make the most informed decisions
possible:
Pros
The Cleveland Clinic notes
that many patients who have
undergone joint replacement
surgeries have experienced
dramatic improvement within
a relatively short time after
undergoing the surgery. Much
of that improvement is related
to pain, which for many people
becomes overwhelming prior
to surgery.
Another benefi t to joint replacement
surgery is the recovery
time. For example, the
Cleveland Clinic notes that
patients who have knee replacement
surgery are usually
standing and even moving
the joint the day after their
surgeries. Within six weeks,
those same patients are typically
walking comfortably
with very little support. While
each patient is different, any
fears that joint replacement
surgery will require patients
to be immobile for months after
surgery are unwarranted.
Joint replacement surgery
also can be a long-term solution,
whereas the alternatives
might not be. The Cleveland
Clinic says that roughly 85
percent of knee implants will
last 20 years, and that life expectancy
fi gures to grow as
technology advances.
Cons
As benefi cial as joint replacement
surgery can be, it’s
not without downsides. Cost is
one such disadvantage. How
much a patient pays for the
surgery depends on his or her
coverage, but AARP notes that
the average knee replacement
surgery costs $31,000. Such
costs can be prohibitive for aging
men and women who are
no longer working.
Another potential disadvantage
to going under the
knife, especially for those who
are borderline candidates for
replacement surgeries, is the
likelihood that surgery won’t
have a signifi cant impact on
quality of life. A 2017 study
published in the journal BMJ
found that knee replacement
had minimal effects on quality
of life, especially for patients
whose arthritis was not
severe.
Joint replacement surgeries
are common. When deciding
if surgery is their best option,
patients should consider
the pros and cons of going under
the knife before making
their fi nal choice.